


Ten Years For You

by dannyboii



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Convenience Store, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Lance, Black coffee sucks especially diner coffee, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gay Keith (Voltron), Getting Back Together, Hunk and Pidge are disappointed in Keith, I have my reasonings, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith has a slight london accent, Keith smokes, Keith still loves Lance, Lance owns a convenience store, Lance still loves Keith, Lovers to Strangers to Enemies to Friends to Lovers again, M/M, Modern AU, Slow Burn, Swearing, This has been swimming around in my brain all day, but who isn't tbh, im not, lol help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-08 07:10:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12859431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dannyboii/pseuds/dannyboii
Summary: They were in love, Lance and Keith. God, were they ever. Always putting themselves after the other, doing whatever they could to make the other happy.Relationships require mutual sacrifice. At least, the healthy ones do.And did Lance make the biggest sacrifice; his happiness, for Keith's education.Keith left to study abroad with the promise to write and call.Lance believed him.That was mistake number one.Mistake number two was waiting ten years by the phone, hoping it'd be him that's ringing.Mistake number three was falling in love with Keith all over again the minute he saw him.





	1. Chapter 1

Lance remembers being in love, but only once. It was ten years ago, in high school. He was a junior in love with a senior; already a doomed relationship. They both knew that Keith would have to leave Lance, especially if he wanted to properly pursue his education. Lance spent months convincing him to prioritize his education over their relationship. It was only after Keith was accepted to study abroad in London, was Lance finally able to convince him to take proper priority.

 

The day Keith left was the worst day of Lance’s life thus far. Even now, at the ripe age of twenty-seven. Every time Lance thinks of the look on Keith’s face before he boarded his plane, a little bit of Lance dies inside. He looked so lost and hurt, as if his entire being was telling him to stay, _stay_! But he didn’t stay. He left, and for ten years at that. In those ten years, if Lance was lucky, he would get an e-card from Keith wishing him a happy birthday. He only sent three.

 

That was the only form of communication Lance would have with him.

 

Now, ten years later, here stands Keith at the front counter of Lance’s convenience store, his face heavy with guilt, yet pale and gaunt. He had lost weight, it seems. And he appeared to be slightly taller. Or Lance just got shorter, which he doubts.

 

“Can I get a pack of _Camel Light 99s_?” Keith asks, his voice, which was once smooth and deep, is rough and strained, though still deep. He sounds mature, now. As if he’s one final essay away from becoming a professor. His voice also carries the slightest hint of a Londoner’s accent. That posh sonuvabitch.

 

“I don’t know,” Lance starts, his voice clearly riddled with irritation. He reaches for the cigarettes. “Can I get the last ten years of my life waiting for you to call me, back?”

 

Keith says nothing at this, clearly ashamed of himself.

 

“Four bucks.” Lance says with finality, taking Keith’s money. “And don’t come back here.”

 

Keith looks like a kicked puppy at Lance’s words, yet he nods in response.

 

“Got it,” he whispers, retreating from the store’s counter. He opens the glass door to the bitter cold, snow quickly invading the indoors. He hesitates briefly, before taking a step outside.

 

“I waited.” Lance speaks up. Keith turns his head. “Every night I waited by the phone. For ten years I waited. Last night, I waited. I waited, and I waited, and I waited. Yet you never called, or wrote, you didn’t even send an email. Just three e-cards spread throughout the span of ten years. I loved you, Keith. I fucking loved you, and I still love you, but I am so hurt and broken because of you; because for ten years I heard nothing from you. Not a ‘good morning’, or a ‘goodnight’, not even a fucking ‘hello’! And after ten fucking years, you come into my fucking store, without even saying ‘Hey Lance, it’s been a while!’, asking for cigarettes, instead of my forgiveness. Fuck you, Keith! Fuck. You.”

 

Keith looks stunned, his hand still pushed against the glass door. He opens his mouth to say something, but Lance quickly interrupts him.

 

“Get the fuck out of my store and my life.” Lance says, his voice shaking heavily with emotion.

 

Keith nods slowly, finally embracing the winter cold.

 

Cue Hunk’s entrance from stage right. Lance turns to him, wiping his eyes.

 

“I’m going on my lunch,” he croaks, before walking past Hunk, leaving him in confusion.

 

“Wait, what happened?” Hunk calls out, arms tossed up in confusion. Lance says nothing as he closes the break room doors.

  
Lance remembers being in love, because he still is.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk’s gaze steeled over.
> 
>  
> 
> “No.”
> 
>  
> 
> “‘No.’? What do you mean ‘no.’?” Keith asks, his raspy voice breaking.

Lance had always thought Keith was something special. He was always so gracefully smooth, what with the way he walked and talked. He was kind and considerate of others, helping those in need of studying or with group projects. The way he seemed to pass every test he took, and aced every essay he wrote, with ease. Lance thought he was oh-so special and magical, and waaaaay out of his league. Keith was a beacon of light in Lance’s average and atypical life.

 

Before he knew it, Keith has somehow seamlessly integrated himself into Lance’s social life. They would always hang out with Hunk and Pidge, Lance’s two best friends, having the most fun a group of highschoolers could have (that didn’t involve alcohol or recreational drug use). There was only one time that Lance could think of, where he and Keith hung out by themselves. There was a fair in town and Keith wanted Lance to come with him, alone.

 

“It can be just us every now and again, right?” Keith had asked, his voice genuine with thought.

 

Lance had nodded very, very awkwardly at Keith’s question, because heck yeah it could be just them every now and again. It could be just them all the time. Lance found it surprisingly adorable for a senior like Keith to latch onto a junior like Lance. Typically, it would have been the other way around.

 

When they had arrived at the fair the next evening, Keith had found himself a spot on Lance’s arm, holding on in a very koala bear-esque manner. The only time he would let go, was to point out a stuffed toy he thought was cute, or getting excited over the cotton candy. As the night progressed, Lance found himself digging a rapidly deepening hole he called Feelings For Keith, and he was afraid he could never climb back up.

 

After riding the ferris wheel in comfortable silence, they had both decided it was time to head home. The stars were out and shining in the cooling autumn sky, giving bare light to those that them mind.

 

“Cold,” Keith had muttered, not expecting Lance to hear him nor take pity. But Lance did hear him. However, he didn’t take pity, but instead found this to be the perfect time to be a true Gentlemen ™ and give Keith his jacket. In doing so, Keith gave a surprised “Oh!” and looked up at Lance. At this point, Lance was just hoping and praying that Keith couldn’t tell he was blushing. He could.

 

“Cute,” Keith whispered, tilting his head up to give Lance a very gentle kiss on the cheek. “Very cute.”

 

Lance had always thought of himself as someone to have a way with words, what with his extensive vocabulary and being fluent in two languages. Unfortunately, words had failed him in his most dire time of need. To make a long story short; Lance sputtered, Keith gave a small laugh, they stared awkwardly into each other’s eyes, and then confessed to one another. At the same time. Yes, that was also awkward. They never talked about it.

 

(Except they totally did, which typically ended in the two of them arguing over who was cuter and why)

 

But that was then and this is now. Now, Lance often found himself alone, with old photos of his and Keith’s time together being his only company. Lance’s favorite picture of the two of them was one that Pidge, a girl two years younger than Lance, had taken. It showed Keith and Lance on one side of a diner booth. Lance was laughing adamantly, his head thrown back, while Keith looked at him with absolute adoration in his eyes and a smile on his lips. He had told a joke that got Lance to laugh, and was proud of himself. This picture was taken three weeks after they had gotten together.

 

They confessed their love for one another a week later on their one month anniversary. Nobody doubted their love, it was as clear as day and almost tangible.

 

Lance gently held the picture between his index finger and thumb. His eyes burned from crying, and his throat felt sore and dry; he had been crying. He wasn’t sure why. Even though he 100% was sure exactly why. 

\------

 

After Lance went on his ‘lunch’ yesterday, he had gone home. He didn’t say anything to Hunk when he left, except “Watch the store for me,”. Minutes later, on the cab ride home, Hunk had sent him a text.

 

**Hunk: Keith just came into the store looking for you. Did you know he was coming back?**

 

A minute had passed before Hunk sent another text.

 

**Hunk: Oh doy, of course you didn’t. But you did know he was back, didn’t you? He had come in while I was on my break, right?**

 

**Lance: Yes.**

 

**Hunk: Are you okay, Lance?**

 

**Lance: No. I’m not.**

 

**Hunk: Do you want to talk about it?**

 

**Lance: No. At least not right now. I need to take some time off work, do you know if Pidge is available tomorrow?**

 

**Hunk: Not sure, but I could check**

 

About ten minutes had passed. Long enough for Lance to forget he was waiting on a response.

 

**Hunk: She said she wasn’t, but when I told her what happened she said “oh fukc nvm ya im free, ill come in lol”**

 

**Lance: Okay, cool. Thanks.**

 

**Hunk: No problem, Bob-lem**

 

**Lance: :]**

 

When Lance had reached his worn-down apartment, he immediately threw himself onto the couch and screamed his lungs out, sobs cutting in and out in an untimed way.

 

\------

 

As soon as Lance left the store, Hunk found himself alone behind the counter. He slapped his hands awkwardly on the counter’s glass until a man in a large, red winter coat ran in. He looked frantic and borderline psychotic.

 

“Hunk?” the man asked, his voice carrying the slightest hint of a British accent.

 

Hunk stared at the man for a solid ten seconds.

 

“Oh shit, Keith,” he said, voice calm and casual. “What’s up, man?”

 

“Where’s Lance?” Keith asked, his voice desperate. “Where is he? I- I need to talk to him, I need to tell him I- I fucked up and that I want to make things right between us!”

 

Hunk’s gaze steeled over.

 

“No.”

 

“‘No.’? What do you mean ‘no.’?” Keith asks, his raspy voice breaking. “Hunk, I need to talk to him!”

 

“Keith, that would not be a good idea. You hurt him. You left him alone for ten years without so much as a text or a funny picture. Imagine how that must have made him feel.”

 

“Look, I get it-”

 

“No, you don’t, Keith,” Hunk interrupted. “You do not get it. You don’t even know how much suffering you put that boy through, how desperately he wanted to leave this hell-hole of a city, but was afraid you wouldn’t be able to find him if he did. He stayed for you. He kept his shitty fucking job at this store for you. He begrudgingly became the owner for you. He waited, Keith.”

 

“I never asked him to!” Keith snapped. “I never asked him to stay and ruin his fucking life! I never asked him to stay devout and loyal! I never asked him to wait for me! I told him on the day I left, I said that it wasn’t fair that I got to see a different part of the world without him, and that the second he got the chance, to go explore the world. I told him to do what he loved, but he refused. He refused and that is not my fault, Hunk. That’s all him. So don’t you fucking dare try and put all of the blame on me! I know I hurt him, and I want to make it right, but I’m not going to apologize for the fact that he made poor life choices and sabotaged himself for someone who didn’t even want to come back, because he was afraid of his rejection!”

 

“What?”

 

Keith quickly shut his mouth.

 

“Keith, why would Lance reject you?”

 

Keith turned his gaze to the floor.

 

“Keith?”

 

“My first semester abroad, I got expelled from the university I was studying at.”

 

Oh.

 

Keith bit his lip.

 

“I didn’t want to disappoint Lance, so I attended a different university, one of a lesser status. But, my grades began to suffer so I dropped out. I was homeless, until my now good friend, offered to let me live with her. I've been a librarian for the past eight years at a crappy, rundown, library. I have about, thirty bucks in my checking account, and I just want to talk to Lance. Please.”

 

Hunk sighed.

 

“I'm sorry, Keith, but Lance left for the day already,” Hunk said. “Maybe come back tomorrow or later this week and talk to him. You know Lance, he can't stay mad forever.”

 

Keith looked dejected.

 

“But he could stay mad forever at me.” Keith whispered, his voice cracking slightly. “Hunk, I hurt him, and he will never be able to forgive me for the pain I caused him. He hates me, now.”

 

“But does he really?” Hunk asked, waving at a customer as they entered.

 

“No,” Keith admitted. “No, he doesn't. He told me he still loved me, but by the way it sounded, he made it seem like he didn't want to anymore.”

 

“Maybe he doesn't want to be,” Hunk says. “If Lance put you in this situation, would you want to love him?”

 

Keith stayed quiet.

 

“...No. I guess I wouldn't.”

 

“Exactly. So, even though Lance doesn't want to love you, he really really does. So, Keith, I think you’ve still got a shot.”

 

Keith blinked at Hunk.

 

“Thanks, Hunk.” Keith gave him a small smile. “I'll start next week, give him some time, maybe.”

 

Hunk nodded.

 

“That may be the best plan I've ever heard from you since I've known you.”

 

Keith laughed.

  
“Thank you, I try my best.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith likes mangos, apparently.

Keith watched as the sun set over the horizon of buildings across his hotel room. Just a few buildings down, at the corner, was Lance’s convenience store. It still held the name of the previous owner,  _ Calvin and Son’s _ . The son being Lance’s old boss, Calvin being the original owner, both retired now. Hunk mentioned that Lance was thinking of remodeling it and renaming it, but he wasn't sure yet.

 

Keith felt his phone vibrate twice in his pocket. Looking at it, he saw a text from Hunk and a text from an unknown number.

 

-

 

**Hunk: Hey, Keith, just a heads up, I gave Pidge your number. You remember Pidge, right?**

 

-

 

**XXX-XXX-XXXX: you mother fukcer, im gonna find you and kill ylu in ylur sleep, you little bitch**

 

**Keith: hi, pidge.**

 

**Pidge: Im gonna kill you!!!! Set traps, lock your doors, buy an unregistered gun >:(!!!**

 

**Keith: Pidge, i have a plan, it'll be fine. Hopefully.**

 

**Pidge: you better!!!**

 

**Pidge: if you need any help, just hmu**

 

**Keith: ok, thanks**

 

**Pidge: but seriously tho, fuck you**

 

-

 

**Keith: yeah, i’d like to think i do, thanks hunk**

 

-

 

At around ten or so, long after the sun had set into the winter sky, the lights in Lance’s store shut off. Out came Lance, zipping up his winter coat. Snow was gently cascading down from the sky. As it gently landed on Lance, Keith wondered if his hair still curled when it got wet. If it still irritated Lance. Keith loved Lance’s naturally curly hair, how soft it felt. But Lance hated it. He always claimed that it made him look like an elf. Keith would then point out that Lance was way too tall to be an elf. Keith was then shushed in return.

 

Keith watched Lance walk down the pavement for a bit before he made a right turn. He still walked the same; unsure yet determined, always using his full height, but having the smallest and sharpest of steps. He was a fast walker that way, always getting where he needs to be quickly and without fuss.

 

Keith missed Lance. God, did he miss him. Keith slumped away from the window, groaning, only to come face-to-face with Allura, his tagalong for this trip.

 

“Jesus Christ, Allura!” Keith exclaimed. “You fucking startled me! How long have you been there?”

 

She gives a small smile, laughing gently.

 

“Long enough to know what your highschool sweetheart looks like, is all. He's handsome. And tall.”

 

Keith sighs dramatically, flopping onto the the musty hotel mattress

 

“I know, and he hates me. Well, he doesn't, but he doesn't want to love me, that's for sure. I know I wouldn't want to if I were him.”

 

Allura set a gentle hand on Keith’s knee.

 

“Keith, you just have to prove to him how sorry you are, and how badly you want to correct things between the two of you.” Allura suggested. “He would understand and want to fall in love with you all over again, but only if you show him that you want to fix this and that you still love him.”

 

Keith nodded slowly.

 

“You're right,”

 

“When am I not?”

 

“Last week.” Keith said immediately.

 

Allura gaped at him.

 

\------

 

It was a slow day at the store for Lance. So far he's had five customers, and they all bought gum and cigarettes. He opened an hour ago. He laid his head on the counter, groaning.

 

“You okay?” said a voice. Lifting his head, Lance realized that it was Keith.

 

“Oh. It's you.” Lance replied, ignoring the way his chest tightened. “What do you want, Mullet?”

 

Keith shuffled on his feet.

 

“Just, checking up on you, is all. You looked a little bored.” Keith explained. “But if you want me to go, I can go.”

 

Lance hesitated.

 

“Ugh, no, stay, I'm so bored, I need company.”

 

Keith shrugged.

 

“Alright.” He looked around. “Is there anywhere you want me to sit?”

 

Lance pulled out a hidden chair from behind the counter.

 

“Yep.” he said patting the hard plastic chair. “Next to me.”

 

Keith walked behind the counter and sat down. He felt like a rebel. He turned to Lance.

 

“I feel like we need to talk, Lance,”

 

Lance hummed in response, scrolling through the pages on his phone mindlessly. Keith took a deep breath.

 

“I'm- sorry, Lance,” Keith said. “I- I fucked up. Like, super fucked up. My first semester abroad, I was expelled. Then, at my second university, I flunked out and ended up homeless. I work as a librarian in a shitty rundown building, and I have about thirty dollars in my checking account. I was ashamed of myself. I know that isn't an excuse for not talking to you for ten years, but Lance I was so fucking scared you would turn me away and hate me, that I didn't want to risk it. I didn't want to call you one night and have a breakdown, because that would have made me want to come home. I wanted to come home to you proud of me, not ashamed or sad. But, because I was so afraid of rejection, I ended up ignoring you. In doing so, I ruined everything between us. I made you want to hate me, and I made me hate myself.”

 

Lance turned to Keith, hesitation in his eyes.

 

“Lance, I want to teach you to trust me, again. I can't live my life knowing that you want to hate me or can't trust me.” Keith whispered. “It's breaking my heart, Lance.”

 

Lance's eyes flickered, apprehension clear in them.

 

“Are you going to leave me, again?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion.

 

Keith shook his head. “God, no. Never again.”

 

Lance took a calming breath. “Good.”

 

\------

 

“We should start over, you and I,” Lance says as he's closing shop later that same evening. “Start fresh as strangers, who slowly become friends, then lovers i think it’d be really good for us.”

 

Keith nods, agreeing with Lance's statement.

 

“When would we start?”

 

Lance pushes on the doors, confirming their security. He then turns to Keith, closing the distance between them until their noses are touching.

 

Lance presses their mouths together, gently. Slowly, Keith presses back, adamant to get a taste of the Lance he's missed for ten years. Their tongues meet in the middle, sliding against one another ever so sweetly. The kiss only lasts a brief moment before Lance pulls away, his eyes painted with tears. He's smiling.

 

“Right now,” he says.

 

He then steps away from Keith, and walks passed him. Their shoulders brushed together,  and immediately Keith misses touching Lance.

  
During their ten years apart, Lance made the switch from strawberry chapstick to a sweet mango chapstick. Keith likes mangos, apparently. Especially if they're on Lance's lips.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ugh,” Keith grunted. “When did he become more mature than me? What the fuck? He's supposed to be the baby, not me.”

Keith took a drink from the coffee mug in his hands, the lukewarm liquid doing nothing to wake him up. The diner’s coffee was bitter as well, which definitely did not improve his usual morning grumpiness. He was too focused on glaring at the booth across his table to notice the mass of white hair and dark brown skin sitting down in front of him. Only when the figure snapped their fingers in his face, did he finally come out of his trance.

 

“Keith?” Allura spoke. “Are you alright?”

 

Keith blinked. “Huh? Uh- yeah- yeah, I'm fine, thanks, Allura.”

 

“Were you thinking about Lance?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows. She waved over a waitress for a cup of coffee, smiling kindly.

 

Keith nodded. “Yeah. Last night- for the first time in ten years- we kissed. And it was great. It was really, really, great.”

 

Allura hummed. “So what now? What's going to happen between the two of you?”

 

Keith sighed. “He wants to start our relationship over again. Starting out as strangers, proceeding to friends, and then ending up in a romantic relationship strong enough to last a millennia.”

 

“How mature,” she mused, taking a large sip of her coffee. “Can you handle it?”

 

“Fuck no, I can't handle it,” Keith groaned. “I want to fix this, not start all over again. I want to touch him, and love him, but I can't. There's a wall up because of me and I can't do anything about it.”

 

“Tear it down.” Allura said nonchalantly. “Show him you've changed and bettered yourself. It won't come down immediately, but in due time it will. Eventually, he'll learn to trust you again.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Allura!”

 

\------

 

“Hunk, what do I do?” Lance whined, laying hia head on the counter. “I kissed him! Why did I kiss him? I shouldn't have done that, because now I want to do it again. Ugh.”

 

Hunk sympathetically patted Lance’s back.

 

“It'll be okay, buddy.” he said. “It was just a kiss.”

 

Lance looked at him.

 

“You don't understaaaaand, Hunk!” Lance exclaimed, startling a customer in the dairy section. “A kiss is never _ just _ a kiss, there's always a deeper meaning behind it. Spin the Bottle? You join in hopes of kissing your crush. Truth or Dare? You pay your friend five bucks to dare your crush to kiss you. Seven Minutes in Heaven? You hope you get paired up with your crush, in hopes of something deeper happening between the two of you. Kisses are never just anything, Hunk.”

 

“Damn, okay,” Hunk said. “Guess I was wrong.”

 

“Yes, you were.”

 

\------

 

**Hunk: hey so i gave Lance ur number is that cool**

 

**XXX-XXX-XXXX: hey, keith, its lance.**

 

“Eeeehhh,” Keith groaned, laying his head on the diner table. He placed his phone on the table and turned it towards Allura, allowing her to read it. “Fuck.”

 

“Hah.” she laughed, sipping her coffee.

 

**Keith: I thought we were playing stranger?**

 

**Lance: yeah, we were, but I talked it out with Hunk and he called me an idiot. He also made me realize that I can't run away from us- from the past. We both made mistakes and we both understand that we need to fix them, so we will. But right now, I dont want to pursue a relationship with you. I dont trust you or myself to not hurt one another. We're both hurt and I think some time as friends could heal us and the damage we've caused.**

 

**Lance: I hope thats okay?**

 

**Keith: oh yeah! Its totally okay, Lance, seriously. We just need to take some time for ourselves and figure things out, that's all.**

 

**Lance: yeah :)**

 

**Keith: :)**

 

“Ugh,” Keith grunted. “When did he become more mature than me? What the fuck? He's supposed to be the baby, not me.”

 

Allura shrugs, taking Keith’s phone from him to read the conversation. “Look, Keith, Lance is really trying to right things between the two of you. He's trying to show you that he’s matured. He's grown up for you and he wants you to see that. You do know that, right?”

 

Keith sat back in his booth and sighed, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

 

“I know, Allura, trust me.” Keith sighed. “I just- God, I- why is he so perfect? Why did I have to fuck it all up? Why is he the one coming forth and admitting both of our faults and issues? It should be me who comes to him and admits that we both fucked up!”

 

Keith- no, Keith, listen to me- you can't always be the tragic hero- you can't!” Allura exclaimed, slapping her hand on the counter. “It's not fair to you and it's not fair to Lance, especially Lance. You need to get over yourself and admit that you fucked up. And not just to Lance, but to everyone around you. Okay?”

 

Keith pulled at his hair. Why was this so frustrating? “Okay, fuck-! Fuck! Okay! I'm sorry. I'm fucking sorry! I'm a piece of shit who abandoned his boyfriend for ten years and expect everything to go my way.”

 

Allura sighed. “You aren't a piece of shit, Keith. You're just confused and scared of your feelings, that's all. Talk it out with Lance, tell him how you're feeling. That’ll make a lot of things better between the two of you, this I promise on. For real.”

 

Keith trusted his friend. She was there for him at his lowest point over eight years ago, and she was here for him now. Keith appreciated Allura, he really did, but never in his life would he ever admit that to her. She would never let it go.

 

Keith smiled. “Thanks, Allura. Really.”

 

“No problem.”

 

“This coffee is shit, by the way.”

 

“Oh yeah, the worst.”


End file.
